A Curious Thing
by BritaniaVane
Summary: Mira has always been restless, so joining the Ebon Hawk crew and feeling like an outsider is anything but new. But the girl on board - the white-haired one, quiet, with the angry eyes - certainly is.
1. Restless

Mira didn't quite remember agreeing to this - _any_ of it. She hadn't had a good sleep since the streets were full of talk that a Jedi was in town, and here she was, sleeping on the damn man's ship, or at least _trying_ to and failing miserably.

The Exile was prolific, if anything, and despite the palpable sense of animosity that coursed the ship, it seemed that the ex-Jedi or whatever the hell he was calling himself these days was uncannily talented at drawing aide. Mira would have scoffed, surely, but she was one of them. _Some big idiot, I am._

After the debacle in the Jekk-Jekk Tar and the mess on G0-T0's yacht, Mira wasn't sure exactly when she'd signed up for this. If anything, she owed the Exile a favor for getting her out of Visquis' labyrinth, but beyond that? She wasn't sure why she was here, but was at least immediately thankful that she didn't have to look over her shoulder for Hanhaar always breathing down her neck. But it wasn't like there weren't others who might want to breathe down her neck and get all up into her business, or at least want her out of theirs.

Every corner of the ship was already occupied, and while there were spare beds abound, Mira had no intention of bunking with the ex-Sith ( _so she says)_ Visas or the probably-a-Sith Kreia. There was room in the cockpit, given there was a co-pilot's chair, but Atton's snoring could be heard from the garage and Mira didn't even want to venture just how loud the racket was up close. She was sure the Disciple would welcome her in the medbay, given it was a spacious lab provided the ship's size, but she wasn't quite ready to make small talk with the man just yet, already keen to the eager look in his eyes upon meeting her. She couldn't blame him, though. He was the only normal seeming one on the ship, and by normal she meant completely _un-_ normal in that he managed to retain a sense of purpose and positivity about himself despite all that had happened to him and everyone else he'd ever known. Mira hoped she'd be as well-adjusted one day, but today was not it. Not by a long shot.

The canteen was empty, more a wet bar than a proper kitchen, save for an inactive HK droid. She found it both odd and unsettling that the thing was left to slump there against the canteen counter like an overworked butler, and not just for the odd positioning of the damn thing but for the fact that there were about a million other HK models looking to shoot the Exile in the back. Or front. Whatever side seemed most convenient, really.

The common area was rather sprawling for a freighter, but Mandalore often took to the console in there, reading reports and sending correspondence to his men and women on Dxun - and Mira wasn't exactly ready to open that can of worms, either.

So instead she sighed, quelling the internal panic attack rising in her throat as she stood with her back to the wall just outside the cargo bay, hungry for sleep. If anything, she may just duck into the engine room. It was the loudest corner of this damned ship, and the only one that seemed comforting at the moment - if it weren't for the screams and thumps coming from the room behind her.

 _What the hell?_

No one else on the ship stirred, but the sound was indistinguishable. _Someone_ was in the cargo hold, and _something_ was going down.

Mira inhaled, swallowing her fears and insecurities, almost thankful for the distraction. Within the span of a moment, she had her rocket launcher enabled, a poison dart at the ready. She nodded (as if there was anyone else to nod _at_ or _to_ ) and turned the corner.

She slid her open palm against the panel to the cargo bay silently, so as not to draw attention, and immediately drew her wrist launcher - only to stand there dumb-founded as a naked woman met her waking eyes.

"I _really_ need to sleep," she didn't realize she was muttering, until she noticed the white-haired girl glaring at her with eyes like ice was in fact _real,_ and also incredibly upset that she was here.

" _Excuse me_ ," she said, not moving from the center of the hold, "Can you _please_ leave the premises? I'm practicing."

There was an air of iciness to her voice that matched her eyes, and her hair if Mira thought about it. The girl remained still, holding a pose as if she were about to ground herself before roundhouse kicking an imaginary adversary, which Mira could only guess was being stood in for by the stack of crates in the center of the room.

"Sorry, I-" Mira blubbered, her eyes darting just about everywhere as she took in the scene - the crates, the cargo hold, the _naked woman_ standing in what could hardly be considered her underclothes, "I heard _fighting_?"

"I'm training, I'll have you know," the woman said, assuming a more casual stance though Mira thought there was almost nothing casual about it, other than the fact that she didn't look as ready to pounce on something as she did a moment ago, "And this is _my space_ , so I'd appreciate it if you let me be."

"Sorry, I didn't know anyone would be in here," Mira said, sounding more like the Exile than like herself. She'd known the guy for a few days and she was already taking cues. As if Mira needed any more reason to believe her rough childhood was a thing of the past. _Frack_.

"Well, _these_ are my… _quarters_ ," the young woman said, waving a hand about as if she were trying to convince not only Mira but herself that this was a livable space. "And I'm _busy_."

"Sorry, sorry," Mira said, raising her hands in mock surrender, "Getting out of your hair."

She promptly turned around and felt the door shut at her back before her hand could palm the panel again, the girl eager to get rid of her.

" _Damn_."

Mira sighed again, and resigned.

 _The canteen it is_.

* * *

She wasn't sure when exactly she'd woken up, but she was sure the droid beside her _wasn't_ plotting her murder, despite the fact that it's eyes were _glowing_ now. Or maybe it was just a trick of the light…

It was one of those things where Mira didn't exactly remember waking up but also wasn't exactly sure when she'd stopped dreaming, too, but somehow her eyes were open and they'd been open for some time, despite her having no memory of having opened them.

 _I need a bed,_ she thought. _A real fracking bed_.

She conceded to make good with the Disciple, the nerd - Mical, she thought she'd heard the Exile call him. There were two medical tables in the medbay, and so far sharing a room with the wide-eyed optimistic one was at least a move she was willing to make now. She couldn't trust Kreia or Visas just yet, but then again, weren't the nice ones the people you needed to really look out for? She wondered if there was room on the floor of the Exile's private room… or maybe she could sleep out by the garage…

"Oh, sorry, I didn't realize-" a voice interrupted her half-sleep as she half-stood against the canteen counter.

It was the girl from yesterday, the one the Exile mentioned but not by name, the one Mira forgot about upon boarding this damn ship and ran into while she was damn near naked.

"Realize what?" was all Mira could say, all sharp edges and annoyance, as usual.

The girl's blue eyes flashed as she crossed her arms over her chest - which was now clothed, Mira noticed.

"Is this where you'll be staying? I can make it a point to visit the canteen when-"

"Oh, no, dear Maker, _no_ , I just-"

The realization of just how sad this seemed only dawned on her as the girl said it, and Mira vowed to find a new _headquarters_ by the following evening, or whatever schedule the Exile followed that allowed for sleep. In space, it was hard to tell.

"I didn't have anywhere else to stay, so-" Mira said, sounding more sure of herself than she was, "Didn't feel like staking a claim on any place I wasn't sure of, at least not until-"

"The engine room is free," the girl interrupted, her arms still stiff across her chest, her expression cool, "If you wanted a place to yourself, that is."

"I considered that," Mira admitted, "Maybe I will."

The girl nodded and turned on her heel, leaving Mira there alone with the HK droid looking eerily up at her.

"Well, then," Mira said, almost flustered by how quickly she'd come and gone and how she still didn't know this damn girl's name, " _Good day_."

Mira made a mocking flourish with her hand she knew mystery girl wouldn't see as she watched her retreating back disappear beyond the common area and around the end of the hall. From the corner of her eye, she saw Mandalore punching something into the center console and shaking his head, either at the news he was reading or at _her_ \- out of fear it was the latter, Mira closed the canteen door and locked the damn thing.

* * *

Mira still found herself hanging around the canteen when she was awake, oddly thirsty now that she wasn't anchored on Nar Shaddaa. She wasn't sure if it was a nervous tick or if there was something slimy about the atmosphere of the Smuggler's Moon that the Ebon Hawk lacked, which was probably better for her health if anything.

She would usually hang near the door, leaning up against the wall so she could escape into the small room if need be, or dart out to the garage if she wanted to get away. She kept the engine room within view, her only true refuge, but she didn't want it to become _her room_ , lest people start looking for her there. Mira reserved that room only for sleep and emergencies. So far, all she'd needed was sleep, potential emergencies hopefully _not_ abound.

But when she hung around the common area, she tried not to watch Mandalore too closely, and tried to act like she didn't care, as she felt about most things. But she had to wonder - did he know? Could he tell she was Mandalorian? Or at least raised by them? Was he disappointed she'd fallen into a life of bounty hunting, even if she still held herself to a standard and was the best in the business to boot? She didn't know why she cared, and hoped it was more curiosity than anything.

If she wasn't already worried about parental issues upon meeting the Exile and her obvious hunger for guidance, for comfort, for some semblance of _home_ or _belonging_ , she was damn sure of it now and wished to hell the thought would just leave her be.

"Can I just-?" a voice cut in, shaking Mira out of yet another reverie, "Can I just get by you for a moment? I'd like a drink."

It was the girl again, still nameless, still white-haired, still sporting the same resting bitch face - an expression Mira wore well.

"Yeah, sure," Mira near grunted, tearing her eyes away from the common area's console and the man sitting at it, "Go to town."

Mira crossed her arms tight across her chest and walked over to the lounge, sitting side-long at the round settee with her legs propped up against the broken dejarik table in the center. Allowing herself a moment to gather her thoughts and quell her inner urge to punch something, she unsheathed her wrist launcher, flexing her fingers as the weight of the thing released its grip. Setting the device gently in her lap, Mira began picking at bits of debris from the smaller compartments, as if she had meant to do this anyway, regardless of whether the girl showed up or not.

"Restless?"

Mira turned her head, surprised to find the girl still here. She stood with her back against the wall beside the canteen, her hands wrapped around the plastene cup she was sipping from.

"Who's asking?"

It was more of a reflex than a true response, but Mira was already rolling her eyes when the girl responded.

"... _I'm_ asking."

Mira couldn't tell if she was being dense or had a dry sense of humor. Or perhaps she was just plain serious. Mira shifted on the lounge to look at her better, draping one arm across the back of the settee.

"No kidding."

The girl pursed her lips and raised a brow, shaking her head.

"Suit yourself."

Mira wondered if she'd meant to say something else, if there was a reason she was asking. But she was already gone with her cup of water, or whatever the hell it was, and scowled as she got back to work.

* * *

The ship was always bustling, but never busy enough for Mira to get lost in, to go unnoticed. She was either always in someone's way, or someone was in hers. Either that, or someone wanted something from her, asking questions or just plain making small talk. Most everyone fell into the former category while the Exile and Mical were the only ones to embody the latter. Mira wasn't sure which was worse.

When they weren't docked planetside, Mira did her best to make herself scarce or to at least wear a scowl that said _leave me alone._ This usually worked, unless Atton was in the room.

"What's the matter with you? Not blown anyone up lately?" he'd sneer playfully, in one way or another. Yesterday, he asked who was set in her sights to receive a poison dart, and before that it was a straightforward punch to the face. Today, Atton was thinking grenades.

He was lucky he shared the same snide humor as Mira, otherwise she might just hit him upside the head. Hell, she probably still would.

"I've got the itch," she said as she tracked their progress on the nav computer, playing along but not entirely lying, as always, "If we don't land somewhere soon, _you're_ my first target."

" _Please_ and _thank you_ ," Atton replied dryly, punching in codes at the pilot's chair, "It's about damn time."

Mira smiled at that, despite the fact she could tell the man was _and_ wasn'tjoking.

She left the cockpit and slumped into her usual spot in the main hold, intent on cleaning her boots and sharpening the knife she kept hidden in it. Atton filled Mira's "interacting with people" quota nicely. He didn't ask any real questions and he was never truly serious. Atton had the air of a Nar Shaddaa refugee about him. It almost felt like home. Plus, it seemed that both she and Atton had a limit, their conversations ending naturally after a few minutes, neither of them ever pressing further before going their separate ways.

But then there was the girl, the Handmaiden the others called her, though Mira wondered if she had a name at all. When she wasn't running into Mira she was silently watching her, careful and quiet, and Mira wasn't exactly sure what to think about it. She did the same with a few of the others, the Exile in particular, and Mandalore. But Mira could tell this was different.

After the first few incidents, Mira could tell the girl didn't mean anything by it, but she still wanted to know _why_. The moment Mira felt a pair of eyes on her - those now-familiar irises, a mix of ice-blue and sharp violet - whether she was in the main hold or near the canteen, Mira'd let the feeling linger, she'd let the girl watch. And then, today, she looked back at her.

But when their eyes met - the girl's silent study session cut short when she was found out, her eyes going wide - Mira didn't find herself annoyed or bothered, and she wasn't thinking about grenades as Atton had guessed. She was, instead, simply… _curious_. And Mira had a feeling the girl watched her for much the same reason.

* * *

Notes:

I always felt like Brianna and Mira made sense together. They couldn't be more different when they join your party in-game, but their character development throughout the game felt complementary to me - so here we are. I plan on working this relationship into Out of the Abyss/The Dark Wars but likely from Brianna's POV. There's no other reason for a male Exile here other than I happen to be in the middle of a playthrough with one, so he just sort of stuck, even if he's only referred to by his moniker. In any case, here's my contribution to this rare-pair 33 I hope you enjoy.


	2. An Invitation

Mira wasn't exactly the first person to volunteer and follow the Exile to Korriban, but she didn't back down either. Some of the others had reasons for staying on the ship while others were just plain spooked. But the Handmaiden seemed resolute, determined if anything to face its evils. Mira followed suit, though she wasn't sure why…

The three of them finally escaped the dry heat of the place (or _this fucking hellhole_ , as Mira was already calling it with mock affection) to rest in the shade at the mouth of a nearby cave, situated halfway up what looked like a hill but felt more like a mountain on their way to the derelict Sith academy at the summit.

The Exile eyed the cavern with a curious eye, never letting his guard down. The Handmaiden did the same.

Mira twitched, fidgeting with her wrist launcher to keep the sand out of the smaller crevices, squinting into the darkness.

"I don't like the looks of this place," she muttered, "Or the smell of it, or the … _feel_ of it."

The Exile turned to face her, his brow furrowed.

"Feel?" he echoed, taking a step closer, "How does it feel to you?"

His cadence seemed almost casual, but the swiftness with which he answered her spoke to a deeper concern. Mira shrugged.

"Heavy," she said after a beat, the word feeling _right_ as she said it. "Dead. Old, maybe? But still… _present_ , somehow. Like something's lingering here."

The words came without question, goosebumps spreading along her arms despite the heat as she heard her own thoughts take to the open air. She eyed the Handmaiden, now appearing just as concerned as the Exile, but somehow also… afraid? Her eyes grew wide for a moment, their blue drowned out by all the brown and beige around them, before biting her lip and covering her worry with that usual calm she emanated otherwise.

The Exile only nodded, knowingly, though he could tell he was saving the rest of this conversation for later. Mira knew what she said held truth, but the fact that _she_ said it held weight, and she wasn't sure how she felt about that.

"So, are we moving on or what?" Mira nodded in the direction of the derelict academy in the distance, peering over the edge of a cliff at them from the top of the mountain. The Exile glanced in the same direction, following her gaze and studying the rock face before shaking his head.

"This cave might be worth looking into, but-" he looked the cavern in the mouth again, his gaze unsure now, "Maybe you're right."

Mira cocked her head in question, but she didn't say anything. She felt _something_ when she looked the cave in the eye, and it sure as hell didn't make her love this place any more, if anything. Whatever it was the Exile felt, Mira felt something too, and it wasn't good. Judging by the Handmaiden's expression, she knew it was just the same. The Exile's gaze travelled between the two of them, his dark eyes wondering, before glancing back at the cave one last time.

"Perhaps later," he said, urging them onward, beginning the long trek upward again.

"Sure," Mira said, trying her best to swallow her fear, and not at the cave itself or _this fucking hellhole_ \- but the feelings, the _sense_ she had about this place. What was that about? She wasn't sure she wanted to find out.

* * *

"I don't like the feel of this place, either," the Handmaiden said this time, shooting Mira a look over the corpse of the Tuk'ata she had just slaughtered, its breath still rising hot in the shade of the academy's entrance.

Mira nodded at her, their eyes locking for the briefest of moments in understanding, before she looked to the Exile.

"It _shouldn't_ feel welcoming," he affirmed darkly, his eyes scanning the intricate carvings on the door before them. "Be on your guard."

He was almost a shadow in the darkness of the academy's portico, his dark skin melting into a silhouette as he stood before the door, hardly visible to either one of them. At least the Handmaiden was clad in all white, her features in stark contrast to everything around her, seemingly everywhere they went - at least as long as Mira had been there. Her eyes gleamed blue-white in the shadows, a beacon of light in the dark.

The Exile waved his hand over the doors' surface and gears _click clocked_ at his whim, or at the will of the Force, at least. The door split in two, halved at the center as each slab retreated into a hidden track, allowing them access.

"Was that a password you muttered or did that really take a magic trick to open?" Mira asked quietly, almost sarcastic but knowing her earnest interest peppered her words.

"A bit of both," the Exile muttered over his shoulder, the surprise evident in in his answer. "I'm not sure what happened but… I have a feeling we're expected."

He raised a brow and looked pointedly at Mira, his brown eyes near black in the lack of light. Mira's skin grew cold but she steeled herself, her wrist-launcher at the ready and her blaster poised. The Handmaiden raised her staff to the open doorway, just as ready, waiting with the rest of them.

The Exile glanced at them both, his gaze grazing his shoulders as he surveyed each of his companions before entering, and somehow Mira knew he was glad _they_ were the ones who joined him now. She thought of how Atton would hate this place as much as Mira did, remarking on the planet's every feature with a sarcastic quip, but the way he spoke as they landed told her that there was _something_ here that set him on edge. He was more prickly than usual, and not in the mood for jokes once the loading ramp descended, as if he wanted to avoid the sand if it were a plague. Looking into the mouth of the academy, Mira thought that maybe this place _was_ cursed - nothing but a ruin full of death, tempting those who were yet so - and something about the sneer the Handmaiden bore as the doors parted told her that she felt the same.

* * *

By the time they came upon the cave again, they were covered in dried blood, caked with sand, and still raw with the sight of Master Lonna Vash's dead body, the torture still evident on her skin, in the blood pooled at her downturned head, the gaping hole in her skull…

And then the Exile disappeared, swallowed into the heart of the cave as if it were any old hallway, just another detour - but the determination with which he entered set Mira more on edge than the idea that the man might have just gone crazy. Something was beyond those cave walls, something that waited for him and hungered for his pain, and Mira and the Handmaiden would just have to wait until the Exile passed the test or died in the attempt.

He gave them leave, assuring that it was okay if they wanted to turn back and ready the ship should he not return - but neither woman had moved, nor did they intend to.

Mira waited, poised on a rock as she examined the remains of an ancient vessel, long plundered though something gold and glittering peered at her over the broken edge, wedged between sand and rock. The Handmaiden, however, would not stop moving.

"Is that all you ever do?" Mira asked after a while, what may have very well been hours. "Train? Practice? Whatever you call it?"

The Handmaiden parried against an unseen opponent, her staff slicing through the air with precision - or what Mira _assumed_ was precision given there was no real target on the receiving end.

"What else is there?" the Handmaiden said in a hurried breath, not taking a moment to pause. "How do _you_ get it all out?"

Mira balked, frozen as she stood poised, still plucking a rock from her boot, the Handmaiden still going at it all the while.

"Get all _what_ out?"

The Handmaiden paused, or what could have counted as a pause for her - she remained in place, though she bounced on the balls of her feet, still ready for a fight.

"Tension," she almost sighed, still moving, "Stress, anger-"

The Handmaiden swung her staff again, its metal body singing as it made its way across the open space, coming face-to-face with the rugged rock wall beside her, stilling just an inch from its jagged surface.

" _Everything_."

She moved again, but this time almost like dancer, twining across the rock shelf like water down a stream.

Mira stood mesmerized, the boot rock still held aloft over her unearthed shoe.

"Everything?"

The Handmaiden nodded, though she paused once she saw the questioning look on Mira's face.

"Perhaps it's just an Echani thing, but-" she moved closer, closer than Mira remembered her venturing, at least not by accident. "I assumed it was a thing common amongst warriors."

Mira wanted to laugh. _Me? A warrior?_

But the laugh never found purchase. Instead, she sat there in silence, her face blank as she processed the thought. _She thinks me a warrior, huh?_

And she figured she was. Always on edge, always looking over her shoulder, ready for a fight. But was that what really made a soldier? Mandalore would disagree, as would any true Mandalorian as Mira had learned as a child. But was that all she was? Or was she just… scared? She knew _how_ to fight. Maybe that was all she knew, so that was what she did. She didn't look for fights, but she knew where to find them, knowing she could milk credits out of them and get herself something to eat. But was that enough? Was there any valor in there? And did Mira even _care?_

As waves of thought and realization lapped at her, Mira stood staring, the Handmaiden awaiting her response patiently all the while, even though the woman didn't owe her that much, even though Mira never once saw her grant anyone else the same courtesy. Not even the Exile.

"So, what do you say?" the Handmaiden asked, her staff held at the ready as it always was, though this time as an invitation.

"You're on."


	3. Call and Response

"You certainly have an _interesting_ fighting style," the Handmaiden breathed as they finally set their sparring hands aside and conceded to rest, the Exile still missing, last seen at the mouth of the cave.

Mira was careful to remind herself that no, they were _in_ the cave, the Exile was just crazy enough to enter the even creepier cave _within_ the already creepy cave, and it took all she had not to dwell on the thought.

"I could say the same about you," Mira almost laughed, still out of breath, careful to keep her gaze from watching the Handmaiden too closely just as she was careful not to fret too much over their missing leader. The way she moved, the way she-

Mira stopped herself and took a breath, turning as she wiped the sweat from her forehead and looked for something else to focus her attention on.

"How long have you been training?" the Handmaiden asked after a few moments of uncomfortable silence, stretching her limbs as Mira near-collapsed on a low-set boulder to massage her calves.

"Training?" she laughed darkly, flashes of memories flitting through her mind's eye - of being abducted, of being forced into labor, of being plucked from her troupe of children to study combat from her Mandalorian captors, made to think she was better than the other kids, worthy of her abductors' respect…

"Were you formally trained or self-taught?" the girl continued, as if Mira hadn't understood her question.

"A bit of both," she replied, "And I'm not sure how for how long, either, though maybe only the self-taught part. I've been on my own for a while, I just… haven't really kept count of the years."

She'd been meandering the Outer Rim, Hutt Space in particular, for what she guessed was four years now, but before that most of her life was a blur. She couldn't recall any set years, dates or places, even, and she wasn't even exactly sure of how old she was, where she was born, what her parents had been like…

"What about you?"

The Handmaiden looked at her, watched her expression, as if surprised that Mira would ask, unused to talking about herself.

"Echani are trained from birth, in a sense. So always, I guess," she said after regaining her composure, her voice growing quiet, inwardly thoughtful, "It's cultural, almost like a language."

Mira could only nod. On the outside it sounded a bit like the Mandalorians, defining themselves through combat, but she could sense that this ran deeper, somehow, though she was afraid to ask for further details.

The Handmaiden tucked one of her beaded braids behind an ear before turning away, tugging at one of her pristine white sleeves, brushing a bit of microscopic dust from its surface.

"I can see why you're a bounty hunter," the Handmaiden continued, "You're skilled at anticipating your opponent's next move, to a _degree_ ," she glanced at Mira as she uttered the word 'degree' before looking away again, "And you're fairly adept at blocking."

"Blocking is my specialty," Mira smiled, her usual snark rising as she caught her breath, still wondering how the Handmaiden was so composed.

"But as quick as you are, you leave yourself exposed in places, vulnerable," the Handmaiden said again, though this time her voice grew softer, as if she were attempting to be polite about it, "It's something I need to work on as well. My sisters used to berate me for it, but-"

She sucked in a breath and paused, looking out over the dark expanse of the chasm that separated them from the rest of the cave.

"Thank you," the Handmaiden said, her voice stern again, "For indulging me."

Mira wasn't sure of what to say. She nodded, though she knew the Handmaiden could not see, but perhaps feel her gesture, if the girl was anything like the Exile.

The place seemed eerily quiet now, her heart suddenly too loud as the air grew thicker, the hair on Mira's arms and the back of her neck standing on end. It was as if some inner chamber of the cave sighed, loosing a breath, its caress sending a chill over her skin.

"Are you alright?" the Handmaiden asked, picking up her staff to inspect it further, perhaps clean it of dust and dirt and whatever bone meal likely covered the floor of the cave, given the place's more beastly residents.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," she answered absently, knowing full well that she _wasn_ ' _t_ fine but sure as hell wasn't about to announce that fact. "Say, are you tired?"

The Handmaiden paused, her eyes widening slowly as she tried to make sense of Mira's question. "Tired?"

"Yeah, are you tired?"

The Handmaiden balked for a moment before shaking her head, standing up straight again before turning from Mira to further inspect her staff.

"Not at all," she said, steadying her voice as she said it, standing just a bit straighter, "Why do you ask?"

Her voice seemed to stiffen, as if she knew where this was going, as if she were already regretting extending a somewhat friendly hand in offering Mira to let off some steam.

"You don't feel that?" Mira asked, despite the doubt already pooling in her chest like an ache still opening, "I don't know, I just… I was hoping maybe we could try again."

"No," the Handmaiden said almost too-quickly, her answer spring loaded before Mira even finished uttering the words. "I've learned all I need to know."

 _Learned all you need to know?_

If Mira was embarrassed by the woman's impromptu fighting style assessment, she was certainly feeling it tenfold now. _Open and vulnerable, my ass._

But she couldn't help but watch on as the Handmaiden went about her business, somehow sure that she was covering something up, hiding some unease she felt but was otherwise too high on her horse to acknowledge.

"Say, you got a name?"

The Handmaiden paused, her staff still extended, though her eyes widened at the question.

"Yes," she said curtly before resuming, as if that was the end of the interaction.

"And…?" Mira baited, growing impatient, annoyed even, "That name would be…?"

"I have a name but it is not for use other than my own knowing," she said cooly, dropping her staff at her side and looking Mira pointedly in the eye, her gaze stern, "You may call me The Last of the Handmaidens, should you need to address me."

"The… the what?"

Handmaiden, she'd gathered, but 'The Last Of' part felt like opening a whole other can of worms. Anger dissolving into confusion, Mira tried to read the girl, watching the warring composure and uncertainty fight for dominance over her features.

"My sisters and I… are Handmaidens, and I the last of them. Meaning… I am the least worthy of the six."

 _Six sisters. Hells…_

"But I intend to change that," she continued, looking at the inner cave again now. Mira followed her gaze, somehow knowing that the Handmaiden wasn't talking about the Exile, at least… not exactly.

Because she felt it. The prickling sense of _knowing_. That unnerving energy that seemed to follow the ex-Jedi everywhere he went. But it wasn't just him. Mira felt it everywhere now, even when she actively tried to ignore it. Perhaps the Handmaiden felt it, too...

"Well, we have that in common at least."

"Have what in common?"

"I'm looking to change things, too," Mira said, easing herself off of the boulder and back onto her two, very sore feet. _Only, I'm not sure exactly what I'm looking to change._

She almost expected the Handmaiden to question her words, ask her to elaborate, but she didn't. She just watched her. Watched her in… contemplation? Mira walked to the cliff's edge, glancing at the abyss on the other side before shooting another gander at the cave the Exile disappeared through hours ago now.

"Or at least I'll see this through, to the end. For myself, if anything."

"Why?"

The Handmaiden's voice was soft, wistful, almost reverent.

"I don't know," she said, though she knew full-well that she was talking about the Force, the universe, and the mysteries it held, maybe even make a friend or two, "But I intend to find out."

The Handmaiden soaked in her words, letting them steep as she thought them over, a faint smile gracing the pale pink of her lips before she nodded in understanding.

"Me too."

And for once, Mira didn't feel so alone.

* * *

The Exile emerged from the cave not long after they stopped speaking, stumbling from the cave mouth with eyes like fire.

"We need to get back to the ship," he breathed, though there was barely any life in him, "We need to-"

Without thinking, without speaking, Mira and the Handmaiden caught the Exile before he hit the ground, bringing him out of the cave in silent unison, somehow understanding exactly where the other meant to step and which direction they each meant to take, which tunnel they meant to follow. Mira guessed it had something to do with the Echani exercise, shooting the Handmaiden a sideways glance every once in a while as the sneaking suspicion rose within her. But each time she looked, she found something else. A faint freckle on the Handmaiden's cheekbone. A strand of hair more grey than silver, another almost blue-white. And her eyes -

Mira's face reddened, but only just as they entered the unrelenting heat of Korriban, finally at the greater cave mouth, the Ebon Hawk barely in view from where they stood on the dilapidated mountainside. At least now she could blame the heat if the girl noticed, if she saw…

"What do you think he saw in there?" the Handmaiden asked, her voice still quiet as they hauled the Jedi's body out of the cave, leaning him against one of its outer walls. Mira crouched and released a canteen from her belt, unscrewing the lid before pressing it to the Exile's parched lips.

"I'm not sure," she said, though she knew the Handmaiden wasn't exactly talking about the Exile. There was something darker in that cave as well as… something else.

They looked at one another, eyes locking. _The Force_. Mira blinked, unsure of what it meant, for her, for them… for _all_ of them. But something inside her told her this wasn't just about the big picture but something smaller… not in scale, but somehow more intimate. She shook the idea from her head as she stood, watching the Exile return to life a bit.

"I look like shit, don't I?" he asked, eyes squinting against the setting desert sun.

"How could you tell?" the Handmaiden quipped. Mira paused, surprised, before stifling a laugh. The Handmaiden grinned.

"Okay, someone please tell me whether I'm still having visions or not…" the Exile muttered, finally rising until he stood, a half-smile on his delirious face. "I need to sleep for the next… oh, I don't know. Ten years? Maybe twenty."

"Sounds good to me," Mira said, groaning as she shouldered the Exile's weight again, the man already shaky on his own two feet. As Mira caught him under one arm, the Handmaiden caught the other, the two exchanging glances and nodding before heading back to the ship.

* * *

Things were… different, after that.

Mira would find herself staring, wondering. And she would find the Handmaiden staring right back. That is, before she would notice and look away, her skin too pale to blush. If Echani even could…

"So what's with you and the pale monk, over there?" Atton asked one day as Mira practiced shooting darts at his head, only she substituted the darts with nuts and bolts she'd snuck from Bao-Dur's work station.

"What about her?" Mira said, biting her lip as she took aim.

"You two seem awfully friendly now, eh?"

Mira shot him a glare.

"Friendly?" Mira scoffed, though part of her warmed at the idea, pushing the feeling down the moment she felt it. They hadn't sparred again, no, but they'd shared banter here and there when they traveled, often preferring each others' company to the rest of the _Ebon Hawk_ when the Exile required assistance, even if it was mostly spent in silence. " _You're_ the closest thing I have to a friend, and _Force_ , that's fucking sad, isn't it?"

"Force? I didn't take you for the religious type," Atton joked right back, looking away from the controls to glance at Mira with a knowing look.

"The Handmaiden sure seems like it though," Mira said, instantly regretting it. Atton smirked.

"I didn't say that, _you_ said that," he rejoined, "And only you would know. Other than the Exile, you're the only one who's gotten her to say more than two words, and those more-than-two-words being something other than _'shut'_ and _'up'_."

Mira glanced down through the cockpit entrance, and though the view didn't allow her to see past the curve in the hallway, she imagined the Handmaiden in her cargo hold, the space still sparse save for the few things the girl was passing for decorations now. Mira still didn't have a space of her own, having currently made a camp of the security room, and wondered what the Handmaiden would do if-

"I know you haven't been with this merry band for too long, but-" Atton began, laughing nervously, though Mira was already only half-listening as the scoundrel spoke, "You don't think, the Exile… that he and I might- wait, where are you going?"

But before Atton could finish his half-heard sentence, Mira was already down the hall, turning the corner as she caught the last of his voice vaguely echoing off the walls. Without realizing it, Mira had thought of the Handmaiden's room and suddenly appeared there, in the flesh, still wondering what she was going to say while she waited for the girl to open the door at her attempt-at-polite knocking, only to discover that the words found her just as the Handmaiden appeared at the door, opened just a crack as if suspicious.

"Spar with me," Mira said at the sight of her, almost pleading, not quite begging but… _convincing_.

"Excuse me? I-"

"Indulge me," Mira continued, mirroring the Handmaiden's words from the skyrack cave, trying to edge her way into the room without appearing too domineering, too demanding - but part of her just needed to _know_.

The Handmaiden's soft - _plush_ \- pink lips opened and closed, considering words before speaking them aloud, and thinking the better of it before uttering, "I already know what I desired to find out," she eventually said after appearing like a firaxa out of water, almost defensively, though part of Mira suspected it was more _deflective_ than anything.

"Yeah, sure," Mira conceded, still uncertain of the words that tumbled out of her mouth even as she spoke, knowing unrelentingly that she felt them in full in spite of any better judgement, whatever that meant, "But what if… what if _I_ haven't?"

The Handmaiden only stared, her blue eyes mostly silver-grey in the harsh fluorescent of the _Hawk'_ s lights. After a moment of considering, the Handmaiden relented, her eyes cast downward, a slight smile twitching across her features before she swallowed it as she let Mira into the cargo hold, closing the door behind her.


End file.
